$2 billion overhaul of I-4 could start in 2014

10:59 p.m. EST, April 11, 2012|By Dan Tracy, Orlando Sentinel

After years of talk and planning and seemingly little else, a major overhaul of Interstate 4 could be just two years away.

State officials said Wednesday that they are close to figuring out how to pay for a $2 billion makeover of the region's most heavily traveled road from Longwood through downtown Orlando to Kirkman Road in south Orange County.

Work could begin as soon as mid-2014 if private financiers are found to build, maintain and operate four new toll lanes that would be constructed in the middle of the highway. The investors would get their money back from motorists paying fees that would be highest during peak travel times.

Exactly how much private money would be necessary was not clear during a Wednesday presentation by a state Department of Transportation manager to MetroPlan Orlando. The agency sets transportation policy in Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties.

But FDOT's Loreen Bobo did say the state has set aside $857 million for the renovation. Some money also would have to come from the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority to improve the I-4 interchange with State Road 408 heading west, a spot that often causes major backups.

That work is expected to cost about $625 million. Expressway officials say they have not talked yet with the state about their role for I-4.

The key to the plan's success is the tolls, which FDOT officials say will have to play a prominent role in most future major road improvements. The reason is gas-tax revenues — the major source of road funds — are dwindling and there is no political will to increase them.

A ban on I-4 tolls put in place several years ago by U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Winter Park, also must be rescinded. Mica has said he is now OK with allowing tolls on new lanes, but a transportation bill hung up in Congress likely must be passed to end the prohibition.

FDOT is close to launching the renovation because of the combination of falling construction costs, which lopped off about $300 million from the estimated price tag, and the possible infusion of private dollars from tolls.

If the plan comes together, Bobo said, the 20-mile stretch of I-4 would be rebuilt to smooth out the rolling nature of the road and soften some curves, including the one at Fairbanks Avenue, the scene of numerous rainstorm accidents.

Fifteen interchanges would be improved, too, including busy ones at Colonial Drive, State Road 436 and Maitland Boulevard. Pedestrian bridges over I-4 would be built at S.R. 436 and Maitland Boulevard.

"That's a lot of work," Bobo said, adding the redo could take five to six years to complete.

The state already owns more than 90 percent of the land needed and has finished 60 percent of the planning, she said. She anticipates advertising for investors and contractors next spring.

FDOT would ask contractors to do much of the work at night, when traffic is lightest. Lane closures also are possible during the day to speed the work, she said.

Regardless of when workers are on site, I-4 could endure even more congestion on a highway that carries up to 200,000 cars and trucks a day. That's one reason FDOT supported SunRail, a $1.2 billion commuter train that largely parallels I-4 and should be running before the highway construction begins.

"That will be a great way for folks to commute," Bobo said of the system that initially will link DeBary in Volusia with downtown and south Orange.

Under the plan, driving from the east to downtown during weekday morning and evening rush hours could cost $3.60 round trip; from the west about $2.30, Bobo estimated.

Orlando City Council Commissioner Daisy Lynum, a member of MetroPlan, supports tolls. They "give you an option. You use them, or you don't," she said.

Alfredo Raton, a 54-year-old air-conditioning salesman, drives I-4 constantly. He is all for enhancing the highway that opened in 1965, but he is worried about the possible escalation of tolls.

S.R. 408, for example, started out with a 20-cent charge. The main plaza now is $1 and will go up 25 cents in July for cash customers.

But Raton, who lives in College Park north of downtown, is willing to pay the price.